This
case is scheduled for a settlement conference with the
Honorable Holly B. Fitzsimmons, United States Magistrate
Judge. Local counsel shall notify any visiting counsel of the
date and time of the conference.

A.
PRESENCE OF PARTIES/PERSONS WITH AUTHORITY

The
parties are hereby ORDERED to be present at the conference.
If a party is a legal entity, not an individual, a
representative of the party WHO IS FULLY AUTHORIZED TO
DECIDE ALL MATTERS pertaining to the case shall be
present at the conference. The Court will not hold a
settlement conference without all parties present.
Availability of a party by telephone IS NOT PERMITTED without
the authorization of the Court. Authorization must be sought,
in writing, at least two weeks in advance, and must
state (1) the reason for the request, and (2) the opposing
party's position with regard to the request.

In
cases where a party requires authority from an insurer to
settle the case, the party shall ensure that an insurance
company representative with FULL AUTHORITY to settle
the case is present at the conference. For a plaintiff,
"full authority" means final authority to
dismiss the case with prejudice, and to accept in settlement
an amount or terms down to the defendant's last offer.

For a
defendant, "full authority" means final
authority to commit a defendant to pay, in the
representative's own discretion, a settlement amount up
to the plaintiff's prayer or the plaintiff's last
demand, whichever is lower.

The
purpose of this requirement is to have in attendance a person
with both the authority to exercise discretion and the
realistic freedom to exercise such discretion without
negative consequences, in order to settle the case during the
settlement conference without consulting someone else who is
not present. FAILURE OF A PARTY OR PARTY REPRESENTATIVE
WITH FULL AUTHORITY TO SETTLE THE CASE TO ATTEND THE
CONFERENCE MAY RESULT IN THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
The parties should be prepared to spend the entire day in the
settlement conference.

B.
PRE-CONFERENCE REQUIREMENTS

1.
Demand

Settlement
conferences are often unproductive unless the parties have
exchanged demands and offers before the conference and made a
serious effort to settle the case on their own. Before
arriving at the settlement conference, the parties are to
negotiate and make a good faith effort to settle the case
without the involvement of the Court. Specific proposals and
counterproposals shall be made. If settlement is not
achieved before the conference, the parties shall be prepared
to engage in further negotiation at the conference. Not
later than 14 days before the conference,
plaintiff's counsel shall contact defendant's counsel
to initiate these discussions, if they are not already
on-going.

2.
Ex-Parte Letter

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At
least five (5) days before the conference, each party
shall provide to the undersigned, in confidence, a concise
statement, no longer than 3 pages in length. The
statements shall outline the settlement negotiations to date,
and identify where possible the obstacles or impediments
which have so far prevented settlement of the matter, as well
as describing the disputed issues and evidence expected to be
offered at trial. The statements may be accompanied by
exhibits (i.e. depositions, damages analysis, photographs,
expert report, medical records), if these would be of
assistance to the Court. Please prepare the statement so that
it ARRIVES in ...

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